"Master, don't worry. She hasn't grown as terrifying as she was back then. Right now, she's at most at the peak of the Emperor Realm." the man said.
"Alright, understood. Go do your work. If you catch her, inform me immediately." the elder said.
The man nodded and then left.
Patriarch Song had also heard rumors of massacres in some places. To keep up with the range of killings, he traveled constantly, hoping to find Tina Cloud and figure out a way to control her.
Inside the Cloud-Lock Tower, Evan Yang had spent several days clearing floors. His awareness had fully recovered, and seeing his restored strength, Evan smiled, "This feels so much better."
Evan had already reached the top floor and could go no further, so he chose to leave the Cloud-Lock Tower. When he came outside, he saw a crowd gathered at the entrance, all watching him.
The leader was a man with purple hair and rough, powerful hands. He looked at Evan and said, "You're the one who climbed from the bottom floor to the top."
"Hmm?" Evan replied.
"Come with me." the man said.
"Wait, is there some problem with climbing from the bottom to the top?" Evan asked, confused why reaching the top floor attracted so much attention.
"Yes, there is a big problem. You must come with me. We won't harm you." the man replied.
After hearing the reply that they wouldn't attack him, Evan said, "Alright, lead the way."
With that, the man led Evan away, while the others dispersed. Evan, bored, struck up a conversation and learned that the man's name was Monty Meng. He had grown up here and was an elite disciple of Cloud’s End Palace. The reason they were focused on Evan was because he had broken through from the first floor all the way to the top.
"Brother Meng, do you know why breaking through to the top floor means I have to be taken away?" Evan asked curiously.
"You know the Cloud-Lock Tower is actually free to use. As long as you can defeat a floor, you get a Willstone. These stones are useful for cultivators like us. But Cloud’s End Palace built this tower for a reason. I don’t know the details, but I do know it’s not simple. Normally, anyone who clears five floors in a row gets taken away for special attention. But you—clearing twenty floors straight? That’s unheard of. I never expected your awareness to be so weak at first, then become so strong after absorbing the Willstones." Monty Meng laughed.
"I was just injured before, so my awareness was very weak. That’s why I took advantage and started from the first floor. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to start at the bottom." Evan said with a bitter smile.
"So that's how it is. No wonder you made it to the twentieth floor." Monty Meng finally understood.
Evan smiled, and the two arrived before a mountain. At its base was a stone stele inscribed with 'Lock-Cloud Mountain.' Evan wondered why there was both a Cloud-Lock Tower and a Lock-Cloud Mountain.
"Lock-Cloud Mountain?" Evan muttered.
"Yes, follow me. My master is up there." Monty Meng said, then led Evan up the mountain. At the summit, they saw a small thatched hut. Monty Meng spoke a few words to Evan, then left, leaving Evan behind.
Evan looked at the little thatched hut, walked over, and respectfully said, "I wonder why Senior has summoned me?"
"I heard everything you two said," came an old voice from inside the hut.
Evan was startled. Did this person have a perception art like Thousand-Mile Echo, able to hear his conversation with Monty Meng?
"What’s wrong? Surprised? Actually, I’m even more surprised by you. You’re not from Cloud’s End, are you?" the person said.
"That’s right. How did Senior know?" Evan asked curiously.
"Because I sense a familiar aura on you, one from the Immortal Realm," the person replied calmly.
Evan was shocked. How could this person know he was from the Immortal Realm? It seemed almost unbelievable.
"Don’t be so surprised. When you reach my level, you’ll sense it too," the old voice said again.
"Senior, your powers are truly remarkable. I’m impressed," Evan said.
"No need for that. But you—your awareness was injured, you came here, then thanks to the Willstones, your strength recovered. I’d bet that within the Emperor Realm, no one is your match now," the old voice said decisively.
"Senior flatters me. This world is vast, full of surprises," Evan replied modestly.
"You’re quite humble. Do you know why I called you here?" the old voice asked.
Evan said, "I’m afraid I don’t understand."
"Cloud’s End has existed for many years, mostly as a realm of awareness. But actually, everyone here is just an awareness projection—their true bodies exist in another world-realm. Because of certain special circumstances, Cloud’s End became disconnected from reality, so everyone’s consciousness drifted here," the old voice suddenly revealed, shocking Evan.
"What? Senior, do you mean everyone has a true body?" Evan exclaimed in shock.
"Exactly. Their true bodies are in another world-realm. Now that realm has become a dead world, because all its awareness is here. Only if all awareness returns can it be restored. But to do that, special conditions are needed. I’ve searched for years, and finally, I’ve found you," the old voice said with a smile.
"Senior, you mean me? I can help Cloud’s End?" Evan asked, uncertain.
"Yes, because only your true body has no connection to that world-realm. Only you can do it," the old voice said.
"But didn’t someone else come here before?" Evan hesitated.
"You mean that Immortal Sovereign, right? He did come, but he didn’t qualify at the time, so I asked him to find someone for me. He sent me a message, so I’ve been waiting for you to appear," the old voice said, surprising Evan yet again.
He never expected that the Alliance Leader and this elder had made an agreement. Still, since he’d recovered, there was no loss. So he asked curiously, "What does it take to qualify?"
"Your awareness has to be strong enough—like you, able to clear so many floors in a row. I know your awareness was injured before, but the twentieth floor? No one can pass it without real skill. That Immortal Sovereign you mentioned only made it to the nineteenth floor." the old voice said.
Evan knew the Immortal Sovereign’s subconscious was weaker than his own, so he wasn’t too surprised. He asked, "So what do you need me to do?"
"Go to Spirit-End Valley in Cloud’s End. There’s a place there called the Spirit-End Divine Domain. Once you’re inside, pour any kind of energy into it until something changes. Then you’ll have succeeded," the old voice said.
"That’s all?" Evan asked, curious.
"Yes, it’s that simple. But outside Spirit-End Valley, there’s a divine beast called Dreamshade. You must defeat it to enter," the old voice said.
"Dreamshade?" Evan thought the name was odd, but he agreed, saying, "I’ll do it before I leave. Right now I have some things to take care of."
"Alright, go ahead. If you need help, come find me anytime," the old voice said to Evan.
Evan nodded, then left Lock-Cloud Mountain. The elder on the mountain sighed deeply, "It’s time to return. I wonder how that world-realm is doing."
Leaving Lock-Cloud Mountain, Evan went back to look for Tina Cloud. When he realized she had disappeared long ago, he grew worried. "Did she go back to find her father?"
Thinking about the Cloud Family’s tragedy and Tina leaving, Evan frowned, then flashed away toward the Cloud estate. When he arrived, he found chaos everywhere. After searching the perimeter, he couldn’t find a single trace of anyone.
"Looks like I need to visit the Song Family." Evan planned to go see if Patriarch Cloud had been captured.
After asking around for the Song Family’s location, Evan hurried over. Seeing the scene there, his brows furrowed—it was a slaughterhouse, with corpses left uncollected.
"Strange, what happened here?" Evan was shocked; the situation was unbelievable.
Seeing this, Evan felt an increasingly ominous premonition.
He searched everywhere and finally sensed a faint aura somewhere. He flew over and saw someone poking their head out. Evan grabbed the person and said, "Who are you?"
"Spare me! Spare me!" the person begged for mercy.
"Who are you? Speak!" Evan demanded.
"I’m from the Song Family," the person replied.
"Song Family? Where are the others? How did it end up like this?" Evan asked, frowning.
The man trembled and said, "Young Master Song and a few others are underground. Everyone else is dead."
"All dead? Who killed them?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"It—it was that Cloud Family girl," the man said in terror.
Hearing this, Evan thought of Tina Cloud again, but she shouldn’t have the strength to kill so many experts. Something felt off, so he quickly had the man lead him underground.
When they reached the underground, Evan saw Young Master Song and several others, all looking terrified. When Evan arrived, Young Master Song stared at him in shock.
Evan glanced around and saw Lynton Cloud locked behind a gate. He hurried over, and the Song Family members automatically stepped aside.
They could sense the terrifying aura emanating from Evan—like he was ready to kill. "When did he get so strong?" Young Master Song thought to himself, deeply afraid that even a glance from Evan could mean death.
Evan pushed open the gate and came before Lynton Cloud. Seeing Evan, Lynton Cloud became excited. "You finally came!" he said.
"What happened to Patriarch Cloud?" Evan urgently wanted to know what had occurred.
"Patriarch Song had someone activate Tina Cloud. Now she’s killing people everywhere," Lynton Cloud said grimly.
"What?" Evan was shocked to hear that the thing inside Tina Cloud had been activated.
"Quick, take me to find her. I want to wake her up," Lynton Cloud still held hope that Tina Cloud could be awakened, so he pleaded with Evan to take him along.
Seeing Lynton Cloud’s difficulty moving, Evan said, "Let me remove the poison from you first."